Report: Intellectual Ventures laying off 20% of staff

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Intellectual Ventures, the patent acquisition company founded by former Microsoft Chief Technology Officer Nathan Myhrvold, is laying off about 20 percent of its employees, Bloomberg Businessweek reported.

The Bellevue company sent out a memo to its workers Tuesday notifying them of the cuts, Bloomberg Businessweek said, adding that about 140 employees are being let go.

Intellectual Ventures, which has been called a “patent troll” by some, had laid off 5 percent of its global workforce in February.

The most recent layoffs “will enable us to maintain and expand our leadership in the market for invention,” the company said in a statement.

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